Thickener for liquid component

ABSTRACT

Provided is means of thickening a liquid component, wherein
         the thickener contains an oil and/or fat composition,   the oil and/or fat composition contains an oil and/or fat component containing one or more types of XXX-type triglycerides having fatty acid residues X, each with x carbon atoms, at positions 1 to 3 of glycerin,   x, the number of carbon atoms, is an integer selected from 10 to 22, and   the XXX-type triglyceride is contained at 50% by mass or more relative to a content of the oil and/or fat component being 100% by mass; or   the thickener, wherein   the oil and/or fat composition is a powder oil and/or fat composition having a loose bulk density of 0.05 to 0.6 g/cm 3 ,   the oil and/or fat component contains a 3-type oil and/or fat, and   a particle of the powder oil and/or fat composition has a plate shape.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a thickener for a liquid component, amethod of producing a thickened composition using the thickener, and thelike.

BACKGROUND ART

Products such as foods and/or beverages, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticaldrugs are blended with various functional materials.

Many of these products contain functional materials as liquidcomponents, such as liquid foods, liquid cosmetics, and liquid-filledcapsules. Because of the liquid form, there is a problem that theseliquid components are hard for those with weakened swallowing ability toswallow. In addition, because of the liquid form, there are problems ofhigh fluidity and handleability and at the time of use. The liquidcomponent is thickened as means of solving these problems (PatentLiteratures 1 to 3).

CITATION LIST Patent Literatures

-   Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No.    2012-157370-   Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent No. 2646422-   Patent Literature 3: Japanese Patent No. 2700377

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problems

However, there remains a problem that there are very few methods ofthickening liquid components containing hydrophobic components and thusno sufficiently satisfactory method has yet been obtained. Meanwhile,although there are several thickeners for liquid components containinghydrophilic components, the main components of these thickeners are foodadditives. For this reason, the amount applicable is limited and therearises a problem of safety.

Solution to Problems

The present inventors have made earnest studies on the above problems tofind that use of an oil and/or fat composition containing a triglyceridehaving a particular structure in a particular composition makes itpossible for anyone to easily thicken a liquid component (particularly aliquid component containing a hydrophobic substance). In addition, theoil and/or fat composition is a food, not a food additive, and thus canbe used without posing a problem of safety. The present invention hasbeen completed based on this finding.

To be more specific, the present invention relates to the following.

[1]

A thickener for a liquid component, wherein

the thickener contains an oil and/or fat composition,

the oil and/or fat composition contains an oil and/or fat componentcontaining one or more types of XXX-type triglycerides having fatty acidresidues X, each with x carbon atoms, at positions 1 to 3 of glycerin,

x, the number of carbon atoms, is an integer selected from 10 to 22, and

the XXX-type triglyceride is contained at 50% by mass or more relativeto a content of the oil and/or fat component being 100% by mass.

[2]

The thickener according to [1] described above, wherein the thickener isan oil and/or fat composition in a powder form,

the oil and/or fat component contains a β-type oil and/or fat,

a particle of the powder oil and/or fat composition has a plate shape,and

a loose bulk density of the powder oil and/or fat composition is 0.05 to0.6 g/cm³.

[3]

The thickener according to [1] or [2] described above, wherein

the liquid component has a viscosity of 1 to 300 mPa·s.

[4]

The thickener according to any one of [1] to [3] described above,wherein

the liquid component contains a hydrophobic substance.

[5]

The thickener according to any one of [1] to [4] described above,wherein

the liquid component is a solution of a hydrophobic substance.

[6]

The thickener according to [5] described above, wherein

a solvent of the solution is selected from the group consisting ofliquid oils, alcohols, organic solvents, and mixtures thereof.

[7]

The thickener according to any one of [1] to [4] described above,wherein

the liquid component is an emulsion of a hydrophobic substance.

[8]

The thickener according to [7] described above, wherein

the emulsion of a hydrophobic substance contains at least one selectedfrom the group consisting of water, emulsifiers, and glycerin.

[9]

The thickener according to any one of [4] to [8] described above,wherein

the hydrophobic substance is selected from the group consisting offlavors, dyes, vitamins, lipids, and mixtures thereof.

[10]

The thickener according to any one of [1] to [3] described above,wherein

the liquid component contains a hydrophilic substance.

[11]

The thickener according to any one of [1] to [3] and [10] describedabove, wherein

the liquid component is a solution of a hydrophilic substance.

[12]

The thickener according to [11] described above, wherein

a solvent of the solution is selected from the group consisting ofwater, alcohols, organic solvents, and mixtures thereof.

[13]

The thickener according to any one of [1] to [3] and [10] describedabove, wherein

the liquid component is an emulsion of a hydrophilic substance.

[14]

The thickener according to [13] described above, wherein

the emulsion of a hydrophilic substance contains at least one selectedfrom the group consisting of water, emulsifiers, and glycerin.

[15]

The thickener according to any one of [10] to [14] described above,wherein

the hydrophilic substance is selected from the group consisting offlavors, dyes, vitamins, and mixtures thereof.

[16]

The thickener according to anyone of [1] to [15] described above,wherein

the liquid component is a liquid form food.

[17]

The thickener according to [16] described above, wherein

the liquid form food is selected from the group consisting of cow'smilk, wines, fruit juices, stock, and yogurts.

[18]

A method of producing a thickened composition, comprising:

a mixing step of mixing the thickener according to any one of [1] to[17] described above and a liquid component.

[19]

The production method according to [18] described above, furthercomprising:

a cooling step of cooling a mixture of the thickener and the liquidcomponent.

[20]

The production method according to any one of [18] and [19] describedabove, wherein

a seeding process, a tempering process, and/or a pre-cooling process arefurther performed between the mixing step and the cooling step.

[21]

The production method according to anyone of [18] to [20] describedabove, wherein

an amount of the liquid component used is more than 30% by mass to 99%by mass relative to a total mass of the thickened composition.

[22]

A thickened composition produced by the production method according toany one of [18] to [21] described above.

[23]

A thickened composition comprising the thickener according to any one of[1] to [17] described above and having a viscosity of 1 to 30000 mPa·S.

[24]

The thickened composition according to [22] or [23] described above foruse as a raw material or an intermediate of a product.

[25]

The thickened composition according to [24] described above, wherein

the product is selected from the group consisting of foods and/orbeverages, cosmetics, quasi drugs, pharmaceutical drugs, householdgoods, feeds, general goods, agricultural chemicals, and industrialchemical products.

[26]

A food and/or beverage comprising the thickened composition according toany one of [22] to [25] described above.

[27]

The food and/or beverage according to [26] described above, being aluxury food.

[28]

A method of thickening a liquid component, comprising a step of mixingthe thickener according to anyone of [1] to [17] described above and aliquid component.

[29]

The method according to [28] described above, further comprising:

a cooling step of cooling a mixture of the thickener and the liquidcomponent.

[30]

A thickened composition thickened by the method according to [28] or[29] described above.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

As shown in Examples to be described later, the thickener of the presentinvention makes it possible for anyone to easily thicken a liquidcomponent. Moreover, the thickener of the present invention contains anoil and/or fat composition as a main component and thus does not pose aproblem of safety present in a conventional thickener having a foodadditive as a main component. Hence, the present invention is usable asa thickener with added value which a conventional thickener does nothave.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing Examples 1 to 4.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state of a thickened composition ofExample 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing Examples 7 to 10.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state of a thickened composition ofExample 7.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

<Thickener for Liquid Component>

The “thickener for a liquid component” of the present invention(hereinafter also referred to as a “thickener”) contains an oil and/orfat composition to be described later as an essential component.

<Oil and/or Fat Composition>

The oil and/or fat composition of the present invention is a liquid oiland/or fat composition in the molten state, containing an oil and/or fatcomponent which contains one or more types of XXX-type triglycerideshaving fatty acid residues X, each with x carbon atoms, at positions 1to 3 of glycerin, in which x, the number of carbon atoms, is an integerselected from 10 to 22, and the XXX-type triglyceride is contained at50% by mass or more relative to the content of the oil and/or fatcomponent being 100% by mass.

In addition, the oil and/or fat composition of the present invention isalso a powdered oil and/or fat composition (hereinafter also referred toas a powder oil and/or fat composition) produced from theabove-described liquid oil and/or fat composition, being a powdered oiland/or fat composition in the solid state, in which the oil and/or fatcomponent contains a β-type oil and/or fat, a particle of the powder oiland/or fat composition has a plate shape, and a loose bulk density ofthe powder oil and/or fat composition is 0.05 to 0.6 g/cm³.

Hereinafter, a description is provided in detail for the oil and/or fatcomposition used in the thickener of the present invention (focusingparticularly on the powdered oil and/or fat composition).

<Oil and/or Fat Component>

Whether in the liquid form or in the powder form, the oil and/or fatcomposition of the present invention contains an oil and/or fatcomponent. The oil and/or fat component at least contains a XXX-typetriglyceride and optionally other triglycerides.

If the oil and/or fat composition of the present invention is in thepowder form, the oil and/or fat component described above contains aβ-type oil and/or fat. Here, the β-type oil and/or fat is an oil and/orfat made up only of a β-type crystal, which is one of the crystalpolymorphism of oils and/or fats. Other oils and/or fats of the crystalpolymorphism include a β′-type oil and/or fat and an α-type oil and/orfat. The β′-type oil and/or fat is an oil and/or fat made up only of aβ′-type crystal, which is one of the crystal polymorphism of oils and/orfats. The α-type oil and/or fat is an oil and/or fat made up only of anα-type crystal, which is one of the crystal polymorphism of oils and/orfats. Some oil and/or fat crystals have different sub lattice structures(crystalline structures) despite identical compositions, which is calledcrystal polymorphism. There are typically a hexagonal type, anorthorhombic type, and a triclinic type, and they are called an α-type,a β′-type, and a β-type, respectively. In addition, regarding themelting points of the polymorphs, the melting points become higher inthe order of α, β′, and β, and the melting points of the polymorphsdiffer depending on the type of the fatty acid residue X having x carbonatoms. In light of this, Table 1 shows below the melting points of thepolymorphs (° C.) in the cases of tricaprin, trilaurin, trimyristin,tripalmitin, tristearin, triarachidin, and tribehenin. Note that Table 1was created based on Nissim Garti et al., “Crystallization andPolymorphism of Fats and Fatty Acids,” Marcel Dekker Inc., 1988, pp.32-33. Moreover, when creating Table 1, the temperature of the meltingpoint (° C.) was rounded off to the nearest whole number. In addition,if the composition of an oil and/or fat and the melting points of thepolymorphs are obtained, it is possible to detect at least whether ornot the β-type oil and/or fat is present in the oil and/or fat.

TABLE 1 α-Type Oil and/ β′-Type Oil and/ β-Type Oil and/ or Fat (° C.)or Fat (° C.) or Fat (° C.) Tricaprin −9 16 32 Trilaurin 15 34 47Trimyristin 33 45 59 Tripalmitin 45 57 66 Tristearin 55 63 74Triarachidin 62 69 78 Tribehenin 68 74 83

A general method of identifying these polymorphs includes an X-raydiffraction method, and the diffraction condition is given by Bragg'sformula below.2d sin θ=nλ(n=1,2,3 . . . )

Diffraction peak appear at positions satisfying this formula. Here, d isa lattice constant, θ is a diffraction (incident) angle, λ is awavelength of the X-ray, and n is a natural number. Within the range ofdiffraction peak 2θ=16 to 27° corresponding to short spacing, it ispossible to obtain information on packing of the sides (sub lattice) inthe crystal and thus to identify the polymorphs. Particularly in thecase of triacylglycerols, a characteristic peak of the β-type appears at2θ=19, 23, and 24° (near 4.6 Å, near 3.9 Å, and near 3.8 Å) and acharacteristic peak of the α-type appears near 21° (4.2 Å). Note thatregarding the X-ray diffraction measurement, the measurement isperformed by using, for example, an X-ray diffractometer maintained at20° C. (Rigaku Corporation, Horizontal Sample Mount X-ray DiffractometerUltima IV). CuKα ray (1.54 Å) is used most often as the light source ofX-ray.

Moreover, the crystal polymorphism of the oil and/or fat described abovecan be predicted by a differential scanning calorimetry method (DSCmethod). For example, the prediction of the β-type oil and/or fat isperformed by predicting the crystalline structure of the oil and/or fatusing a differential scanning calorimeter (manufactured by SIINanoTechnology Inc., product number BSC 6220) based on a DSC curveobtained by raising the temperature to 100° C. at a rate of temperaturerise of 10° C./min.

Here, if the oil and/or fat composition of the present invention is inthe powder form, the oil and/or fat component may be one containing theβ-type oil and/or fat or one containing the β-type oil and/or fat as amain component (more than 50% by mass), and a preferable embodiment issuch that the above-described oil and/or fat component is composedsubstantially of the β-type oil and/or fat, a more preferable embodimentis such that the above-described oil and/or fat component is composed ofthe β-type oil and/or fat, and a particularly preferable embodiment issuch that the above-described oil and/or fat component is composed onlyof the β-type oil and/or fat. The case where all of the oil and/or fatcomponents above are the β-type oil and/or fat is a case where theα-type oil and/or fat and/or the β′-type oil and/or fat is not detectedby the differential scanning calorimetry method. Another preferableembodiment is the case where the oil and/or fat component (or the powderoil and/or fat composition containing the oil and/or fat component) hasa diffraction peak near 4.5 to 4.7 Å and preferably near 4.6 Å in theX-ray diffraction measurement, but has no X-ray diffraction peak of theshort spacing of the α-type oil and/or fat and/or β′-type oil and/or fatin Table 1, particularly no diffraction peak near 4.2 Å. In that case,it is possible to judge that all of the oil and/or fat components aboveare the β-type oil and/or fat. As a further embodiment of the presentinvention, all of the oil and/or fat component are preferably the β-typeoil and/or fat but may contain other α-type oil and/or fat and β′-typeoil and/or fat. Here, that the oil and/or fat component of the presentinvention “contains the β-type oil and/or fat” and an index of therelative amount of the β-type oil and/or fat to the α-type oil and/orfat+β-type oil and/or fat can be assumed from, among the X-raydiffraction peaks, the intensity ratio between the characteristic peakof the β-type and the characteristic peak of the α-type: [intensity ofthe characteristic peak of the β-type/(intensity of the characteristicpeak of the α-type+intensity of the characteristic peak of the β-type)](hereinafter also referred to as the peak intensity ratio). To be morespecific, based on the knowledge concerning the X-ray diffractionmeasurement described above, the index representing the amount presentof the β-type oil and/or fat of the oil and/or fat component is obtainedby calculating the ratio between the peak intensity of 2θ=19° (4.6 Å)being the characteristic peak of the β-type and the peak intensity of2θ=21° (4.2 Å) being the characteristic peak of the α-type:19°/(19°+21°)[4.6 Å/(4.6 Å+4.2 Å)]. Thus, it can be understood that “theβ-type oil and/or fat is contained.” In the present invention, the allof the oil and/or fat components described above are preferably theβ-type oil and/or fat (in other words, peak intensity ratio=1). Forexample, it is appropriate that the lower limit value of the peakintensity ratio is, for example, 0.4 or more, preferably 0.5 or more,more preferably 0.6 or more, further preferably 0.7 or more,particularly preferably 0.75 or more, and especially preferably 0.8 ormore. If the peak intensity is 0.4 or more, it is possible to regardthat the β-type oil and/or fat is the main component of more than 50% bymass. The upper limit value of the peak intensity ratio is preferably 1,but may be 0.99 or less, 0.98 or less, 0.95 or less, 0.93 or less, 0.90or less, 0.85 or less, 0.80 or less, and the like. The peak intensityratio can be any of the lower limit values and the upper limit valuesdescribed above or any combination thereof.

<XXX-Type Triglyceride>

Whether in the liquid form or in the powder form, the oil and/or fatcomponent of the present invention contains one or more types ofXXX-type triglycerides having fatty acid residues X, each with x carbonatoms, at positions 1 to 3 of glycerin. The XXX-type triglyceride is atriglyceride having fatty acid residues X, each with x carbon atoms, atpositions 1 to 3 of glycerin, and the fatty acid residues X areidentical to each other. Here, the number of carbon atoms x is aninteger selected from 10 to 22, preferably an integer selected from 12to 22, more preferably an integer selected from 14 to 20, and furtherpreferably an integer selected from 16 to 18.

The fatty acid residue X may be a saturated or unsaturated fatty acidresidue. Specifically, the fatty acid residue X includes, but is notlimited to, residues of capric acid, lauric acid, myristic acid,palmitic acid, stearic acid, arachidic acid, and behenic acid, forexample. The fatty acid is more preferably lauric acid, myristic acid,palmitic acid, stearic acid, arachidic acid, and behenic acid, furtherpreferably myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, and arachidicacid, and especially preferably palmitic acid and stearic acid.

When the total mass of the oil and/or fat component is set to 100% bymass, the content of the XXX-type triglyceride is a range having a lowerlimit of 50% by mass or more, preferably 60% by mass or more, morepreferably 70% by mass or more, and further preferably 80% by mass ormore, and an upper limit of, for example, 100% by mass or less,preferably 99% by mass or less, and more preferably 95% by mass or less.It is possible to use one type or two or more types, preferably one ortwo types of XXX-type triglycerides. One type is more preferably used.In the case of two or more types of XXX-type triglycerides, the totalvalue thereof is the content of the XXX-type triglyceride.

<Other Triglycerides>

Whether in the liquid form or in the powder form, oil and/or fatcomponent of the present invention may contain other triglycerides otherthan the XXX-type triglyceride described above as long as the effects ofthe present invention are not impaired. The other triglycerides may bemultiple types of triglycerides or any of synthetic oils and/or fats andnatural oils and/or fats. The synthetic oils and/or fats includeglyceryl tricaprylate, glyceryl tricaprate, and the like. The naturaloils and/or fats include, for example, cocoa butter, sunflower oil,rapeseed oil, soybean oil, and cottonseed oil.

When the total triglyceride content in the oil and/or fat component ofthe present invention is set to 100% by mass, no problem arises if theother triglycerides are contained at 1% by mass or more, for exampleabout 5 to 50% by mass. The content of the other triglycerides is, forexample, 0 to 30% by mass, preferably 0 to 18% by mass, more preferably0 to 15% by mass, and further preferably 0 to 8% by mass.

<Other Components>

Whether in the liquid form or in the powder form, the oil and/or fatcomposition of the present invention may contain, in addition to the oiland/or fat component such as triglycerides described above, otheroptional components such as an emulsifier, a flavor, skim milk powder,whole milk powder, cocoa powder, sugar, and dextrin. The amount of theseother components can be any amount as long as the effects of the presentinvention are not impaired. For example, when the total mass of the oiland/or fat composition is set to 100% by mass, the amount is 0 to 70% bymass, preferably 0 to 65% by mass, and more preferably 0 to 30% by mass.Preferably, 90% by mass or more of the other components is a powder bodyhaving an average particle diameter of 1000 μm or less and morepreferably a powder body having an average particle diameter of 500 μmor less. Note that the average particle diameter mentioned here is avalue measured by laser diffraction scattering method (ISO 133201 andISO 9276-1).

Note that it is preferable that a preferable oil and/or fat compositionof the present invention is substantially composed only of the oiland/or fat component and it is preferable that the oil and/or fatcomponent is substantially composed only of the triglyceride. Inaddition, “substantially” means that the components other than the oiland/or fat component contained in the oil and/or fat composition or thecomponents other than the triglyceride contained in the oil and/or fatcomponent are, for example, 0 to 15% by mass, preferably 0 to 10% bymass, and more preferably 0 to 5% by mass when the oil and/or fatcomposition or the oil and/or fat component is set to 100% by mass.

<Powder Oil and/or Fat Composition>

Regarding the powder oil and/or fat composition of the presentinvention, without employing special processing means such as sprayingor machine pulverization by a pulverizer such as a mill, it is possibleto obtain a powdered oil and/or fat composition (powder oil and/or fatcomposition) by transforming into the molten state an oil and/or fatcomposition containing one or more types of XXX-type triglycerideshaving fatty acid residues X, each with x carbon atoms, at positions 1to 3 of glycerin, keeping it at a particular cooling temperature,followed by cooling and solidification. To be more specific, a powderoil and/or fat composition containing the β-type oil and/or fat andhaving a plate-shaped particle shape is obtained by: (a) preparing anoil and/or fat composition containing the XXX-type triglyceridedescribed above; heating, as an optional step (b), the oil and/or fatcomposition obtained in step (a) and dissolving the triglyceridecontained in the oil and/or fat composition to obtain the oil and/or fatcomposition in the molten state; (d) and further cooling and solidifyingthe oil and/or fat composition. Note that it is also possible to producethe powder oil and/or fat composition by applying known pulverizationprocessing means such as a hammermill and a cutter mill to the solidobtained after the cooling.

For example, the cooling of step (d) described above is performed on theoil and/or fat composition in the molten state at a temperature which islower than the melting point of the β-type oil and/or fat of the oiland/or fat component contained in the oil and/or fat composition andwhich is equal to or higher than the cooling temperature obtained fromthe following formula:cooling temperature(° C.)=number of carbon atoms x×6.6−68.Cooling in such a temperature range makes it possible to efficientlyproduce the β-type oil and/or fat, followed by formation of finecrystal. Thus, it is possible to easily obtain a powder oil and/or fatcomposition. Note that “fine” described above refers to a case where theprimary particle (crystal of the smallest size) is, for example, 20 μmor less, preferably 15 μm or less, and more preferably 10 μm. Inaddition, there is a case where if the cooling is not performed in sucha temperature range, the β-type oil and/or fat is not produced and asolid is not formed which has voids with an increased volume larger thanthe oil and/or fat composition in the molten state. Moreover, in thepresent invention, the cooling is performed in such a temperature rangeto produce the β-type oil and/or fat while being left standing and theparticles of the powder oil and/or fat composition are formed in theplate shape. The cooling method is useful in the identification of thepowder oil and/or fat composition of the present invention.<Characteristics of Powder Oil and/or Fat Composition>

The powder oil and/or fat composition of the present invention is asolid in the powder form at normal temperature (20° C.).

If substantially composed only of the oil and/or fat component, forexample, the loose bulk density of the powder oil and/or fat compositionof the present invention is 0.05 to 0.6 g/cm³, preferably 0.1 to 0.5g/cm³, more preferably 0.15 to 0.4 g/cm³, and further preferably 0.2 to0.3 g/cm³. Here, the “loose bulk density” is the bulk density in thestate after a powder body has freely fallen. The measurement of theloose bulk density (g/cm³) can be obtained as follow. For example, agraduated cylinder having an inner diameter of 15 mm×25 mL is looselyfilled with an appropriate amount of the powder oil and/or fatcomposition allowed to fall from about 2 cm above the upper open end ofthe graduated cylinder. Then, the packed mass (g) is measured and thevolume (mL) is read. Finally, the mass (g) of the powder oil and/or fatcomposition per mL is calculated. In addition, the loose bulk densitycan be calculated by using a bulk specific gravity measurement apparatusof Kuramochi Kagakukikai Seisakusho and using a bulk specific gravitymeasured based on JIS K-6720 (or ISO 1060-1 and -2). To be morespecific, 120 mL of sample is allowed to fall onto a receiver (100 mLcylindrical container having an inner diameter of 40 mm×height 85 mm)from a position higher by 38 mm than the upper open end of the receiver.A portion of the sample sticking out of the receiver is removed, and themass (A g) of the sample corresponding to the internal volume of thereceiver (100 mL) is weighed. The loose bulk density can be obtained bythe following formula.loose bulk density (g/mL)=A(g)/100 (mL)

It is preferable that the measurement is performed three times and theaverage value thereof is taken.

In addition, regarding the powder oil and/or fat composition of thepresent invention, the particle thereof usually has the form of a plateshape and has an average particle diameter (effective diameter) of, forexample, 5 to 200 μm, preferably 10 to 150 μm, more preferably 20 to 120μm, and especially preferably 25 to 100 μm. Here, the average particlediameter (effective diameter) can be obtained with a particle sizedistribution measurement apparatus (for example, Microtrac MT 3300 ExIImanufactured by Nikkiso Co., Ltd.) based on the laser diffractionscattering method (ISO 133201 and ISO 9276-1). The effective diametermeans the particle diameter of a spherical shape in the case where theactually measured diffraction pattern of the crystal being themeasurement target matches the theoretical diffraction pattern assumedto be of the spherical shape. As described above, in the case of thelaser diffraction scattering method, the theoretical diffraction patternassumed to be of a spherical shape and the actually measured diffractionpattern are matched to each other to calculate the effective diameter.Thus, it is possible to perform measurement by the same principle evenwhen the measurement target is of a plate shape or spherical shape.Here, regarding the plate shape, the aspect ratio is preferably 1.1 ormore, the aspect ratio is more preferably 1.2 or more, and the aspectratio is further preferably 1.2 to 3.0, particularly preferably 1.3 to2.5, and especially preferably 1.4 to 2.0. Note that the aspect ratiomentioned here is defined to be a ratio between the longer side and theshorter side of a rectangle circumscribed around a particle figure suchthat the area thereof is smallest. In addition, if the particle has aspherical shape, the aspect ratio is smaller than 1.1. In the method ofdissolving an oil and/or fat with a high solid fat content at normaltemperature such as extremely hardened oil followed by direct spraying,which is a conventional technique, the particles of the powder oiland/or fat composition are formed into a spherical shape by surfacetension, and the aspect ratio becomes less than 1.1. Additionally, theaspect ratio can be obtained as the average value with respect to themeasured number by measuring the length of the longitudinal directionand the length in the latitudinal direction for arbitrarily selectedparticles by direct observation using, for example, an opticalmicroscope or a scanning electron microscope.

<Method of Producing Powder Oil and/or Fat Composition>

The powder oil and/or fat composition of the present invention can beproduced by a method including the following steps:

-   (a) a step of preparing an oil and/or fat composition containing a    XXX-type triglyceride;-   (b) an optional step of, for example, optionally heating the oil    and/or fat composition obtained in step (a) and dissolving the    triglyceride contained in the oil and/or fat composition to obtain    the oil and/or fat composition in the molten state; and-   (d) a step of cooling and solidifying the oil and/or fat composition    to obtain a powder oil and/or fat composition containing the β-type    oil and/or fat and having a plate-shaped particle shape.

In addition, an optional step as step (c) for promoting powdergeneration, for example (c1) seeding step, (c2) a tempering step, and/or(c3) a pre-cooling step, may be included between steps (b) and (d)described above. Moreover, the powder oil and/or fat compositionobtained in step (d) described above may be one obtained by step (e) ofobtaining a powdered oil and/or fat composition through powderization ofthe solid obtained after the cooling of step (d). Hereinafter, adescription is provided for steps (a) to (e) described above.

(a) Preparation Step

The oil and/or fat composition containing the XXX-type triglycerideprepared in step (a) can be produced based on the method of producing anoil and/or fat such as an ordinary XXX-type triglyceride which containsone or more types of XXX-type triglycerides having fatty acid residuesX, each with x carbon atoms, at positions 1 to 3 of glycerin or caneasily be obtained from the market. Here, the XXX-type triglycerideidentified by the number of carbon atoms x and the fatty acid residues Xdescribed above is the same as that of the target oil and/or fatcomponent finally obtained except for the crystal polymorphism. The oiland/or fat composition may contain the β-type oil and/or fat. Forexample, the content of the β-type oil and/or fat may be 0.1% by mass orless, 0.05% by mass or less, or 0.01% by mass or less. Note that sincethe β-type oil and/or fat disappears when the oil and/or fat compositionis e.g. heated into the molten state, the oil and/or fat composition maybe the oil and/or fat composition in the molten state. When in themolten state, for example, that the oil and/or fat composition does notsubstantially contain the β-type oil and/or fat also means the casewhere, in addition to the XXX-type triglyceride, substantially none ofthe oil and/or fat components is the β-type oil and/or fat. The presenceof the β-type oil and/or fat can be confirmed by confirmation and thelike of a diffraction peak attributed to the β-type oil and/or fat bythe X-ray diffraction measurement or the β-type oil and/or fat by thedifferential scanning calorimetry method. The amount present of theβ-type oil and/or fat in the case of “substantially not containing theβ-type oil and/or fat” can be assumed from, among the X-ray diffractionpeaks, the intensity ratio between the characteristic peak of the β-typeand the characteristic peak of the α-type [intensity of thecharacteristic peak of the β-type/(intensity of the characteristic peakof the α-type+intensity of the characteristic peak of the β-type)] (peakintensity ratio). The peak intensity ratio of the oil and/or fatcomposition is, for example, 0.2 or less, preferably 0.15 or less, andmore preferably 0.10 or less. The oil and/or fat composition may containone type or two or more types, preferably one or two types, and morepreferably one type of the XXX-type triglycerides as described above.

To be more specific, for example, the XXX-type triglyceride describedabove can be produced by direct synthesis using a fatty acid or a fattyacid derivative and glycerin. A method of directly synthesizing theXXX-type triglyceride includes (i) a method of directly esterifying afatty acid having X carbon atoms and glycerin (direct ester synthesis),(ii) a method of reacting glycerin with a fatty acid alkyl (for example,a fatty acid methyl and a fatty acid ethyl), in which a carboxyl groupof a fatty acid X having x carbon atoms is bonded to an alkoxyl group,under a condition of a basic or acidic catalyst (transesterificationsynthesis using a fatty acid alkyl), and (iii) a method of reactingglycerin with a fatty acid halide (for example, a fatty acid chlorideand a fatty acid bromide), in which a hydroxyl group of a carboxyl groupof the fatty acid X having x carbon atoms is substituted with a halogen,in the presence of a basic catalyst (acid halide synthesis).

Although the XXX-type triglyceride can be produced by any of the methods(i) to (iii) described above, (i) the direct ester synthesis or (ii) thetransesterification synthesis using a fatty acid alkyl is preferable and(i) the direct ester synthesis is more preferable from the viewpoint ofeasiness of production.

In order to produce the XXX-type triglyceride by (i) the direct estersynthesis, the fatty acid X or the fatty acid Y is used preferably in 3to 5 moles and is used more preferably in 3 to 4 moles relative to 1mole of glycerin from the viewpoint of production efficiency.

The reaction temperature of the XXX-type triglyceride in (i) the directester synthesis may be a temperature which makes it possible to removegeneration water generated by the esterification reaction to the outsideof the system, and is preferably 120° C. to 300° C., more preferably150° C. to 270° C., and further preferably 180° C. to 250° C., forexample. If the reaction is performed at 180 to 250° C., it is possibleto particularly efficiently produce the XXX-type triglyceride.

In (i) the direct ester synthesis of the XXX-type triglyceride, acatalyst which promotes esterification reaction may be used. Thecatalyst includes an acidic catalyst, an alkaline earth metal alkoxide,and the like. The amount of catalyst used is preferably about 0.001 to1% by mass relative to the total mass of the reaction raw materials.

In (i) the direct ester synthesis of the XXX-type triglyceride, afterthe reaction, it is possible to remove the catalyst and the unreactedraw materials by performing known purification treatment such as waterwashing, alkali deacidification and/or pressure reducingdeacidification, and adsorption treatment. Moreover, by implementingbleaching and deodorization treatment, it is possible to further purifythe obtained reaction product.

When the total mass of all triglycerides contained in the oil and/or fatcomposition is set to 100% by mass, the amount of the XXX-typetriglyceride contained in the oil and/or fat composition is 100 to 50%by mass, preferably 95 to 55% by mass, more preferably 90 to 60% bymass, and further especially preferably 85 to 65% by mass.

<Other Triglyceride>

Various triglycerides may be contained in addition to the XXX-typetriglyceride described above as other triglycerides to be the oil and/orfat composition containing the XXX-type triglyceride as long as theeffects of the present invention are not impaired. The othertriglycerides include, for example, a X2Y-type triglyceride having afatty acid residue Y in place of one of the fatty acid residues X of theXXX-type triglyceride and a XY2-type triglyceride having fatty acidresidues Y in place of two of the fatty acid residues X of the XXX-typetriglyceride.

When the total mass of the XXX-type triglyceride is set to 100% by mass,the amount of the other triglycerides is, for example, 0 to 100% bymass, preferably 0 to 70% by mass, and more preferably 1 to 40% by mass.

In addition, as the oil and/or fat composition of the present invention,it is possible to use one obtained by hydrogenation,transesterification, or separation of a triglyceride composition ofnatural origin instead of directly synthesizing the XXX-typetriglyceride. The triglyceride composition or natural origin includes,for example, rapeseed oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, high oleicsunflower oil, safflower oil, palm stearin, and mixtures thereof. Inparticular, hardened oil, partially hardened oil, and extremely hardenedoil of these triglyceride compositions of natural origin are preferable.Hard palm stearin, high oleic extremely hardened sunflower oil,extremely hardened rapeseed oil, and extremely hardened soybean oil arefurther preferable.

Moreover, the oil and/or fat composition of the present inventionincludes a triglyceride composition or a synthetic oil and/or fatcommercially available. For example, the triglyceride compositionincludes hard palm stearin (manufactured by manufactured by The NisshinOilliO Group, Ltd.), extremely hardened rapeseed oil (manufactured byYokozeki Oil & Fat Industries Co., Ltd.), and extremely hardened soybeanoil (manufactured by Yokozeki Oil & Fat Industries Co., Ltd.). Inaddition, the synthetic oil and/or fat includes tripalmitin(manufactured by Tokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.), tristearin(manufactured by Sigma-Aldrich Corporation), tristearin (manufactured byTokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.), triarachidin (manufactured by TokyoChemical Industry Co., Ltd.), and tribehenin (manufactured by TokyoChemical Industry Co., Ltd.). In addition to the above, extremelyhardened palm oil can be used as a dilution component for triglyceridebecause of the small content of the XXX-type triglyceride.

<Other Components>

In addition to the triglycerides described above, the oil and/or fatcomposition may optionally contain other components such as a partialglyceride, a fatty acid, an antioxidant, an emulsifier, and a solventsuch as water. The amount of the other components can be any amount aslong as the effects of the present invention are not impaired and is,for example, 0 to 5% by mass, preferably 0 to 2% by mass, and morepreferably 0 to 1% by mass when the total mass of the XXX-typetriglyceride is set to 100% by mass.

If multiple components are contained, the oil and/or fat compositionsdescribed above may optionally be mixed. Although any known mixingmethod may be used as long as a homogeneous reaction substrate isobtained, the mixing can be performed with, for example, a paddle mixer,an agi homo mixer, a disper mixer, and the like.

Regarding the mixing, the mixing may be performed under heating asnecessary. The heating is preferably the same as the heating temperaturein step (b) to be described later, and is performed at, for example, 50to 120° C., preferably 60 to 100° C., more preferably 70 to 90° C., andfurther preferably 80° C.

(b) Step of Obtaining Above-Described Oil and/or Fat Composition inMolten State

Before above-described (d) step, the oil and/or fat composition preparedin step (a) described above is then cooled without heating if in themolten state at the time of preparation. However, if not in the moltenstate when prepared, the oil and/or fat composition is optionally heatedto melt the triglycerides contained in the oil and/or fat composition.As a result, the oil and/or fat composition in the molten state isobtained.

Here, it is appropriate that the heating of the oil and/or fatcomposition is performed at a temperature equal to or more than themelting points of the triglycerides contained in the oil and/or fatcomposition described above, particularly at a temperature which makesit possible to melt the XXX-type triglyceride, for example 70 to 200°C., preferably 75 to 150° C., and more preferably 80 to 100° C. Inaddition, it is appropriate that the heating is continued for 0.1 to 3hours, preferably 0.3 to 2 hours, and more preferably 0.5 to 1 hour, forexample.

In addition, the liquid oil and/or fat composition in the molten statebeing a thickener of the present invention is produced by step (a) or(b). The powdered oil and/or fat composition in the solid state beinganother thickener of the powderizing agent of the present invention isfurther produced by step (d) below. Note that for the purpose ofproducing the powder oil and/or fat composition, it is necessary toperform cooling at the cooling temperature described below.

(d) Step of Obtaining Powder Oil and/or Fat Composition by Cooling Oiland/or Fat Composition in Molten State

The oil and/or fat composition in the molten state prepared in step (a)or (b) described above is further cooled and solidified to form a powderoil and/or fat composition containing the β-type oil and/or fat andhaving a plate-shaped particle shape.

Here, for the purpose of “cooling and solidifying the oil and/or fatcomposition in the molten state,” it is necessary to keep the oil and/orfat composition in the molten state at a temperature lower than themelting point of the β-type oil and/or fat of the oil and/or fatcomponent contained in the oil and/or fat composition as the upper limitvalue of the cooling temperature. Consider the case of a XXX-typetriglyceride having three stearic acid residues each with 18 carbonatoms, for example. Since the melting point of the β-type oil and/or fatis 74° C. (Table 1), the “temperature lower than the melting point ofthe β-type oil and/or fat of the oil and/or fat component contained inthe oil and/or fat composition” is a temperature lower by 1 to 30° C.than the melting point (specifically 44 to 73° C.), preferably atemperature lower by 1 to 20° C. than the melting point (specifically 54to 73° C.), more preferably a temperature lower by 1 to 15° C. than themelting point (specifically 59 to 73° C.), and particularly preferably atemperature lower by 1° C., 2° C., 3° C., 4° C., 5° C., 6° C., 7° C., 8°C., 9° C., or 10° C.

More preferably, it is appropriate that the lower limit value of thecooling temperature is kept equal to or higher than the coolingtemperature obtained from the following formula in order to obtain theβ-type oil and/or fat.cooling temperature (° C.)=number of carbon atoms x×6.6−68(in the formula, the number of carbon atoms x is the number of carbonatoms x of the XXX-type triglyceride contained in the oil and/or fatcomposition)

The cooling temperature is set as above or higher because it isnecessary to set the cooling temperature to a temperature at which theα-type oil and/or fat and the β′-type oil and/or fat other than theβ-type oil and/or fat do not crystallize in the crystallization of theoil and/or fat in order to obtain the β-type oil and/or fat containingthe XXX-type triglyceride. Since the cooling temperature depends mainlyon the size of the molecule of the XXX-type triglyceride, it can beunderstood that there is a certain correlation between the number ofcarbon atoms x and the lower limit value of the optimum coolingtemperature.

Consider the case where the XXX-type triglyceride contained in the oiland/or fat composition is a XXX-type triglyceride having three stearicacid residues each with 18 carbon atoms, for example. The lower limitvalue of the cooling temperature becomes 50.8° C. or more. Thus, in thecase of a XXX-type triglyceride having three stearic acid residues eachwith 18 carbon atoms, the temperature of “cooling and solidifying theoil and/or fat composition in the molten state” is more preferably 50.8°C. or more and 72° C. or less.

In addition, if the XXX-type triglyceride is a mixture of two or moretypes, it is possible to determine the lower limit value prioritizingthe cooling temperature with the smaller number of carbon atoms x.Consider the case where the XXX-type triglyceride contained in the oiland/or fat composition is a mixture of a XXX-type triglyceride havingthree palmitic acid residues each with 16 carbon atoms and a XXX-typetriglyceride having three stearic acid residues each with 18 carbonatoms, for example. The lower limit value of the cooling temperaturebecomes 37.6° C. or more prioritizing the smaller number of carbon atoms16.

As another embodiment, it is appropriate that the lower limit value ofthe cooling temperature described above is a temperature equal to orhigher than the melting point of the α-type oil and/or fat correspondingto the β-type oil and/or fat of the oil and/or fat compositioncontaining the XXX-type triglyceride. Consider the case where theXXX-type triglyceride contained in the oil and/or fat composition is aXXX-type triglyceride having three stearic acid residues each with 18carbon atoms, for example. Since the melting point of the α-type oiland/or fat of the XXX-type triglyceride having the three stearic acidresidues is 55° C. (Table 1), the temperature of “cooling andsolidifying the oil and/or fat composition in the molten state” in thatcase is preferably 55° C. or more and 72° C. or less.

As a still another embodiment, if x is 10 to 12, for example, thecooling of the oil and/or fat composition in the molten state isperformed such that the final temperature reaches a temperature ofpreferably −2 to 46° C., more preferably 12 to 44° C., and furtherpreferably 14 to 42° C. For example, the final temperature in thecooling is preferably 24 to 56° C., more preferably 32 to 54° C., andfurther preferably 40 to 52° C. if x is 13 or 14, preferably 36 to 66°C., more preferably 44 to 64° C., and further preferably 52 to 62° C. ifx is 15 or 16, preferably 50 to 72° C., more preferably 54 to 70° C.,and further preferably 58 to 68° C. if x is 17 or 18, preferably 62 to80° C., more preferably 66 to 78° C., and further preferably 70 to 77°C. if x is 19 or 20, and preferably 66 to 84° C., more preferably 70 to82° C., and further preferably 74 to 80° C. if x is 21 or 22. It isappropriate to allow the oil and/or fat composition to stand at thefinal temperature described above for preferably 2 hours or more, morepreferably 4 hours or more, and further preferably 6 hours or more, andpreferably 2 days or less, more preferably 24 hours or less, and furtherpreferably 12 hours or less, for example.

(c) Step of Promoting Generation of Powder

As (c) an optional step for promoting the generation of powder beforestep (d) and between step (a) or (b) and (d) described above, one mayfurther perform the treatment of a seeding process (c1), a temperingprocess (c2), and/or (c3) a pre-cooling process on the oil and/or fatcomposition in the molten state to be used in step (d). These optionalsteps (c1) to (c3) may be performed singly or in combination of two ormore steps. Here, between step (a) or (b) and step (d) has a meaningwhich includes within step (a) or (b) and after step (a) or (b), andbefore step (d) and within step (d).

The seeding process (c1) and the tempering process (c2) are each amethod of promoting the generation of powder in the production of thepowder oil and/or fat composition of the present invention, which treatsthe oil and/or fat composition in the molten state before cooling to thefinal temperature in order to more reliably powderize the oil and/or fatcomposition in the molten state.

Here, the seeding process (c1) is a method of promoting thickening byadding a small amount of a component being a core (seed) of powder inthe cooling of the oil and/or fat composition in the molten state. To bemore specific, for example, together with the oil and/or fat compositionin the molten state obtained in step (b), an oil and/or fat powder whichcontains a XXX-type triglyceride having carbon atoms equal to those ofthe XXX-type triglyceride in the oil and/or fat composition atpreferably 80% by mass or more and more preferably 90% by mass or more,is prepared as a core (seed) component. The method promotes thethickening of the oil and/or fat composition by adding this oil and/orfat powder being the core at 0.1 to 1 part by mass and preferably 0.2 to0.8 parts by relative to 100 parts by mass of the oil and/or fatcomposition in the molten state when, in the cooling of the oil and/orfat composition in the molten state, the temperature of the oil and/orfat composition reaches a temperature of the final cooling temperature±0 to +10° C. and preferably +5 to +10° C., for example.

In addition, the tempering process (c2) is a method of promoting thethickening of the oil and/or fat composition by, before allowing the oiland/or fat composition to stand at the final cooling temperature in thecooling of the oil and/or fat composition in the molten state, onceperforming cooling at a temperature lower than the cooling temperatureof step (d), for example a temperature lower by 5 to 20° C., atemperature lower by preferably 7 to 15° C., and a temperature lower bymore preferably about 10° C. for preferably 10 to 120 minutes and morepreferably about 30 to 90 minutes.

Moreover, the pre-cooling process (c3) is a method of, before cooling instep (d), once cooling the oil and/or fat composition in the moltenstate obtained in step (a) or (b) described above at a temperaturebetween the temperature at which the oil and/or fat compositioncontaining the XXX-type triglyceride described above is prepared and thecooling temperature at the time of cooling the oil and/or fatcomposition, in other words, a method of once pre-cooling the oil and/orfat composition in the molten state obtained in step (a) or (b)described above at a temperature lower than the temperature of themolten state of step (a) or (b) and at a temperature higher than thecooling temperature of step (d). Following (c3) the pre-cooling process,cooling is performed at the cooling temperature at the time of coolingthe oil and/or fat composition step (d). The temperature higher than thecooling temperature of step (d) can be, for example, a temperaturehigher by 2 to 40° C., a temperature higher by preferably 3 to 30° C., atemperature higher by more preferably 4 to 30° C., and a temperaturehigher by further preferably about 5 to 10° C. than the coolingtemperature of step (d). The lower the temperature for pre-cooling, theshorter the main cooling time at the cooling temperature of step (d) canbe. To sum up, unlike the seeding process and the tempering process, thepre-cooling process is a method which can promote the thickening of theoil and/or fat composition by simply lowering step by step the coolingtemperature, and has a great advantage in the case of industrialproduction.

(e) Step of Obtaining Powder Oil and/or Fat Composition by PulverizingSolid.

The above step of obtaining the powder oil and/or fat composition bycooling of step (d) may be, more specifically, performed by step (e) ofobtaining the powder oil and/or fat composition by pulverizing a solidobtained by cooling of step (d).

To explain the details, the oil and/or fat composition is first meltedto obtain the oil and/or fat composition in the molten state, followedby cooling to form a solid having voids with an increased volume largerthan the oil and/or fat composition in the molten state. The oil and/orfat composition formed into a solid having voids can easily bepulverized by applying a weak impact thereto. The solid easily collapsesinto a powder form.

Here, although the means of applying a weak impact is not particularlylimited, a method of applying weak vibration (impact) for pulverization(loosening) by, for example, shaking or sieving is preferable because ofits simplicity.

Note that the solid may be pulverized by known pulverization processingmeans. Examples of such pulverization processing means include ahammermill, a cutter mill, and the like.

<Optional Component in Oil and/or Fat Composition>

It is preferable that the oil and/or fat composition used in the presentinvention (which has two embodiments of a liquid form and a powder form)is essentially composed only of oil and/or fat. Here, the oil and/or fatis essentially composed only of triglycerides. In addition,“essentially” means that the components other than the oil and/or fatcontained in the oil and/or fat composition or the components other thanthe triglycerides contained in the oil and/or fat are, for example, 0 to15% by mass, preferably 0 to 10% by mass, and more preferably 0 to 5% bymass when the oil and/or fat composition or the oil and/or fat is set to100% by mass.

<Thickener>

The thickener of the present invention contains the above-described oiland/or fat composition (which has two embodiments of a liquid form and apowder form) as an essential component.

The powdered oil and/or fat composition used as the thickener of thepresent invention is preferably a powder body having an average particlediameter of 10 to 1000 μm, more preferably a powder body having anaverage particle diameter of 20 to 200, and further preferably a powderbody of 50 to 100 μm. If a powder body having the average particlediameter described above is used, it is possible to obtain a smoothpowder composition having a uniform distribution of the liquid componentand the thickener. Note that the average particle diameter mentionedhere is a value measured by laser diffraction scattering method (ISO133201 and ISO 9276-1).

In addition, a powder body having the average particle diameterdescribed above can be produced by using known pulverization means, forexample spraying or a pulverizer, which is generally used for productionof oils and/or fats.

It is preferable that the thickener of the present invention is composedonly of the oil and/or fat composition.

Note that the thickener of the present invention may contain an optionalcomponent in addition to the oil and/or fat composition described aboveas long as the functions as the thickener are not impaired. The optionalcomponent mentioned here refers to a component other than the liquidcomponent (thickening target) to be described later. The optionalcomponent includes an emulsifier, skim milk powder, whole milk powder,cocoa powder, sugar, dextrin, and the like.

The amount of the optional component blended is, for example, 0 to 70%by mass, preferably 0 to 65% by mass, and more preferably 0 to 30% bymass when the total mass of the thickener is set to 100% by mass.

Preferably, 90% by mass or more of the optional component is a powderbody having an average particle diameter of 1000 μm or less and morepreferably a powder body having an average particle diameter of 500 μmor less from the viewpoint that it is possible to obtain a smooth powdercomposition having a uniform distribution of the liquid component andthe thickener. Note that the average particle diameter mentioned here isa value measured by laser diffraction scattering method (ISO 133201 andISO 9276-1).

Next, a description is provided for a method of thickening the liquidcomponent by using the thickener of the present invention (in otherwords, a method of producing a thickened composition by thickening theliquid component).

<Liquid Component>

The liquid component refers to a liquid which contains the functionalmaterials contained in the product to be described later.

In addition, the liquid component refers to a component which is aliquid at normal temperature (20° C.).

In addition, the thickener of the present invention is preferablyapplicable to a liquid component having a viscosity of 1 to 300 mPa·S(mPa·s=millipascal×second, for example, model B viscometer, 20° C., 60rpm, No. 1 or 2, excluding the later-described additional case ofdefinition, the viscosity value refers to one under these conditions.Note that 1 mPa·s=1 cP (centipoise).), preferably 2 to 200 mPa·s, morepreferably 3 to 180 mPa·s, and further preferably 4 to 150 mPa·s. Theviscosity of the liquid component can be measured using a model Bviscometer at room temperature (20° C.).

Regarding the functional materials, it is possible to use ones capableof adding a certain function to the product without particularlimitation.

In addition, the functional materials may be a substance which adds aprimary function of the product (for example, active components inmedicinal drugs or functional foods) or a substance which adds asecondary function of the product (for example, dyes and flavors infood).

The functional material may be used singly or in appropriate combinationof two or more types.

The functional material can be divided into hydrophobic substances andhydrophilic substances.

<Hydrophobic Substance>

Regarding the hydrophobic substances, it is possible to use ones blendedin the product described later as functional materials withoutparticular limitation. Specific examples include a flavor, a dye, avitamin, a lipid, a protein (hydrophobic peptide), and the like. Amongthese, the present invention is preferably applicable to a flavor, adye, a vitamin, and lecithin.

Regarding the flavor, it is possible to use, for example, ones blendedin foods and/or beverages, cosmetics, quasi drugs, pharmaceutical drugs,and the like without particular limitation. Specific examples includementhol, cocoas (powder, extract, and the like), esters (for example,isoamyl acetate, linalyl acetate, isoamyl propionate, linalyl butyrate,and the like), natural essential oils (examples of plant essential oilare vanilla extract, spearmint, peppermint, cassia, jasmine, and thelike; examples of animal essential oil are musk, ambergris, civet,castoreum, and the like), aromatic chemicals (for example, anethole,limonene, linalool, eugenol, vanillin, and the like), and oilyseasonings (roasted shrimp oil, onion oil, and the like), and morespecifically include limonene, vanillin, roasted shrimp oil, onion oil,and the like.

Regarding the dye, it is possible to use, for example, ones blended infoods and/or beverages, cosmetics, quasi drugs, pharmaceutical drugs,and the like without particular limitation. Specific examples include anorange dye, a yellow dye, a magenta dye, a cyan dye, and the like.

Regarding the vitamin, it is possible to use, for example, ones blendedin foods and/or beverages, cosmetics, quasi drugs, pharmaceutical drugs,and the like without particular limitation. Specific examples includevitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin K, and the like.

Regarding the lipid, it is possible to use, for example, ones blended infoods and/or beverages, cosmetics, quasi drugs, pharmaceutical drugs,and the like without particular limitation. Specific examples include atriglyceride, a fatty acid, a phospholipid (for example, lecithin,lysolecithin, phosphatidic acid, lysophosphatidic acid, and the like),triethylhexanoin, and the like.

The protein includes a hydrophobic peptide, and the peptide is a seriesof 3 or more amino acids. Hydrophobicity means a low solubility towater, and hydrophobicity is here defined to be a solubility of lessthan 1 μg per 1 ml of water.

The hydrophobic substance may be used singly or in appropriatecombination of two or more types for use as a mixture.

The liquid component may be a solution of the hydrophobic substances.Regarding the solvent constituting the solution, it is possible to useones capable of dissolving the hydrophobic substances without particularlimitation. Specific examples include a liquid oil, an alcohol, anorganic solvent, and the like. Regarding the solution of the hydrophobicsubstances, it is preferable that the solution itself is hydrophobic.

Regarding the liquid oil, it is possible to use, for example, onesblended in foods and/or beverages, cosmetics, quasi drugs,pharmaceutical drugs, and the like without particular limitation.Specific examples include edible oil and/or fats such as rapeseed oil(canola oil), olive oil, rice bran oil, sesame oil, cottonseed oil,peanut oil, corn oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, grapeseed oil, macadamia nut oil, hazelnut oil, pumpkin seed oil, walnut oil,tea seed oil, tea oil, MCT oil (note that the XXX-type triglycerideconstituting the thickener described above is excluded), and MLCT oil.

Regarding the alcohol, it is possible to use, for example, ones blendedin foods and/or beverages, cosmetics, quasi drugs, pharmaceutical drugs,and the like without particular limitation. Specific examples include,for example, lower alcohols such as methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol,n-propyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, butyl alcohol, or the like.

Regarding the organic solvent, it is possible to use, for example, onesblended in foods and/or beverages, cosmetics, quasi drugs,pharmaceutical drugs, and the like without particular limitation.Specific examples include ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, diethyl ether,methyl ether, methyl isobutyl ketone, hexane, acetone, chloroform, orthe like.

The solvent may be used singly or in appropriate combination of two ormore types for use as a mixture.

Although no particular limitation is imposed, the content of thehydrophobic substances in the solution is, for example, 1 to 99% bymass, preferably 5 to 80% by mass, and further preferably 10 to 60% bymass relative to the total mass of the solution.

The liquid component may be an emulsion of the hydrophobic substances.Regarding the dispersion medium constituting the emulsion, it ispossible to use ones capable of dispersing the hydrophobic substanceswithout particular limitation. Specific examples include water,glycerin, a sugar alcohol, a liquid oil, and the like, preferably water,glycerin, and a liquid oil, and more preferably water and glycerin.

The dispersion medium may be used singly or in appropriate combinationof two or more types.

The emulsion may contain an emulsifier. Regarding the emulsifier, it ispossible to use ones capable of dispersing the hydrophobic substanceswithout particular limitation. Specific examples include glycerin fattyacid ester, propylene glycol fatty acid ester, sucrose fatty acid ester,polyglycerin fatty acid ester, sorbitan fatty acid ester, a fatty acidsalt, alkyl sulfuric acid ester, an alkyl amine salt, a quaternaryammonium salt, alkyl betaine, lecithin, Quillaia extract, gum arabic,gum tragacanth, guar gum, karaya gum, xanthan gum, pectin, pullulan,cyclodextrin, alginic acid and salts thereof, carrageenan, gelatin,casein, starch, derivatives of starch, and the like, preferably glycerinfatty acid ester, propylene glycol fatty acid ester, sucrose fatty acidester, polyglycerin fatty acid ester, lecithin, and sorbitan fatty acidester, and more preferably glycerin fatty acid ester, sucrose fatty acidester, polyglycerin fatty acid ester, and lecithin.

The emulsifier may be used singly or in appropriate combination of twoor more types.

Although no particular limitation is imposed, the content of thehydrophobic substances in the emulsion is, for example, 1 to 99% bymass, preferably 5 to 80% by mass, and further preferably 10 to 60% bymass relative to the total mass of the solution.

Note that the liquid component may be the molten hydrophobic substancesthemselves (a melt). In this case, the liquid component is made up onlyof the hydrophobic substances. The hydrophobic substances usable as amelt include, for example, vitamin E, limonene, vanillin, and the like.

<Hydrophilic Substance>

Regarding the hydrophilic substances, it is possible to use ones blendedin the product described later as functional materials withoutparticular limitation. Specific examples include a flavor, a dye, avitamin, an available carbohydrate, a protein (hydrophilic peptide), anucleic acid, and the like. Among these, the present invention ispreferably applicable to a flavor, a dye, and a vitamin.

Regarding the flavor, it is possible to use, for example, ones blendedin foods and/or beverages, cosmetics, quasi drugs, pharmaceutical drugs,and the like without particular limitation. Specific examples includeaqueous flavors (for example, shrimp flavor), natural plant flavors (forexample, liquorice, Saint John's bread, prunus salicina extract, peachextract, and the like), acids (for example, malic acid, tartaric acid,citric acid, butyric acid, and the like), and the like.

Regarding the dye, it is possible to use, for example, ones blended infoods and/or beverages, cosmetics, quasi drugs, pharmaceutical drugs,and the like without particular limitation. Specific examples include anazine-based dye, an acridine-based dye, a triphenylmethane-based dye, axanthene-based dye, a porphyrin-based dye, a cyanine-based dye, aphthalocyanine-based dye, a styryl-based dye, a pyrylium-based dye, anazo-based dye, a quinone-based dye, a tetracycline-based dye, aflavone-based dye, a polyene-based dye, a BODIPY (registeredtrademark)-based dye, an indigoid-based dye, and the like.

Regarding the vitamin, it is possible to use, for example, ones blendedin foods and/or beverages, cosmetics, quasi drugs, pharmaceutical drugs,and the like without particular limitation. Specific examples includevitamins B1, B2, and B6, nicotinic acid, pantothenic acid, vitamin B12,vitamin C, and the like.

Regarding the available carbohydrate, it is possible to use, forexample, ones blended in foods and/or beverages, cosmetics, quasi drugs,pharmaceutical drugs, and the like without particular limitation.Specific examples include polysaccharides such as starch, dextrin,α-cyclodextrin, dextran, pullulan, gum arabic, tragacanth, and agar,monosaccharides such as glucose, fructose, and galactose, andoligosaccharides.

The protein includes a hydrophilic peptide, and the peptide is a seriesof 3 or more amino acids. Hydrophilicity means a high solubility towater, and hydrophilicity is here defined to be a solubility of 1 μg ormore per 1 ml of water.

The nucleic acid includes deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), ribonucleic acid(RNA), DNA-RNA hybrid, an oligonucleotide, a polynucleotide, an aptamer,a peptide nucleic acid (PNA), and the like.

The hydrophilic substances may be used singly or in appropriatecombination of two or more types for use as a mixture.

The liquid component may be a solution of the hydrophilic substances.Regarding the solvent constituting the solution, it is possible to useones capable of dissolving the hydrophilic substances without particularlimitation. Specific examples include water, an alcohol, an organicsolvent, and the like, preferably water and an alcohol, and morepreferably water. Regarding the solution of the hydrophilic substances,it is preferable that the solution itself is hydrophilic.

Regarding the alcohol, it is possible to use, for example, ones blendedin foods and/or beverages, cosmetics, quasi drugs, pharmaceutical drugs,and the like without particular limitation. Specific examples include,for example, monovalent lower alcohols such as ethanol, n-propanol,isopropanol, and n-butanol; divalent alcohols such as 1,3-butyleneglycol, ethylene glycol, and propylene glycol; polyalkylene glycols suchas polyethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, and polypropylene glycol;and polyvalent alcohols such as glycerin, diglycerin,trimethylolpropane, pentaerythritol, and sorbitol.

Regarding the organic solvent, it is possible to use, for example, onesblended in foods and/or beverages, cosmetics, quasi drugs,pharmaceutical drugs, and the like without particular limitation.Specific examples include glycols, esters, ethers, ketones, and thelike. The glycols include, for example, ethylene glycol and propyleneglycol. The esters include esters of the alcohols and glycols describedabove with formic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, and the like,specifically methyl formate, ethyl formate, butyl formate, methylacetate, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, ethyl propionate, and the like.The ethers include alkyl ethers and the like of the alcohols and glycolsdescribed above, specifically dimethyl ether, diethyl ether, dibutylether, methyl ethyl ether, ethyl butyl ether, ethylene glycol monobutylether, ethylene glycol acetate monoethyl ether, propylene glycolmonoethyl ether, and the like. The ketones include acetone, diethylketone, methyl ethyl ketone, acetophenone, and the like.

The solvent may be used singly or in appropriate combination of two ormore types for use as a mixture.

Although no particular limitation is imposed, the content of thehydrophilic substances in the solution is, for example, 1 to 99% bymass, preferably 5 to 80% by mass, and further preferably 10 to 70% bymass relative to the total mass of the solution.

The liquid component may be an emulsion of the hydrophilic substances.Regarding the dispersion medium constituting the emulsion, it ispossible to use ones capable of dispersing the hydrophilic substanceswithout particular limitation. Specific examples include water,glycerin, a sugar alcohol, a liquid oil, and the like, preferably water,glycerin, and a liquid oil, and more preferably water and glycerin.

The dispersion medium may be used singly or in appropriate combinationof two or more types.

The emulsion may contain an emulsifier. Regarding the emulsifier, it ispossible to use ones capable of dispersing the hydrophilic substanceswithout particular limitation. Specific examples include sucrose fattyacid ester, polyglycerin fatty acid ester, organic acid monoglycerinfatty acid ester, lysolecithin, and the like, preferably sucrose fattyacid ester, polyglycerin fatty acid ester, and organic acid monoglycerinfatty acid ester, and more preferably sucrose fatty acid ester andorganic acid monoglycerin fatty acid ester.

The emulsifier may be used singly or in appropriate combination of twoor more types.

Although no particular limitation is imposed, the content of thehydrophilic substances in the emulsion is, for example, 1 to 99% bymass, preferably 5 to 80% by mass, and further preferably 10 to 60% bymass relative to the total mass of the solution.

Note that the liquid component may be the molten hydrophilic substancesthemselves (a melt). In this case, the liquid component is made up onlyof the hydrophilic substances. The hydrophilic substances usable as amelt include, for example, water, a sugar alcohol (for example,erythritol, maltitol, and the like), and the like.

In addition, the liquid component may be ones containing hydrophobicsubstances and/or hydrophilic substances, for example liquid form food.Specific examples of the liquid form food include cow's milk, wine,fruit juice, a drink, yogurt, stock, and the like, preferably cow's milkand fruit juice. Note that the “fruit juice” described above includes100% juices such as orange juice. In addition, regarding the liquid formfood, it is preferable that the food itself is hydrophilic. Note thatthe liquid component includes solutions and emulsions containing wateras a functional material, and water itself (a functional material only).

<Method of Thickening Liquid Component (Method of Producing ThickenedComposition)>

The present invention thickens the liquid component by mixing thethickener and the liquid component in the mixing step, and therebyproduces a thickened composition containing the thickened liquidcomponent (hereinafter also referred to as the “thickened composition”).The thickener used in the production of the thickened composition may bein the molten state (liquid form) or in the solid state (powder form).In the case of using one in the molten state, the cooling step to bedescribed later is necessary. Note that if a thickener in the solidstate (powder form) is used, it is possible to skip this cooling step.

Hereinafter, a description is provided for a method of producing thethickened composition using the thickener.

<Mixing Step>

The thickener to be subjected to the mixing step may be in the moltenstate (liquid form) or in the solid state (powder form), but ispreferably used in the molten state. Use in the molten state makes itpossible for the thickener and the liquid component to mix well witheach other, making it possible to obtain a more homogeneous thickenedcomposition.

No particular limitation is imposed on the mass ratio between thethickener and the liquid component in the mixing step (thickener:liquidcomponent).

In addition, the amount of the liquid component used may be, forexample, more than 30% by mass (specifically, not including 30% by mass)to 99% by mass, preferably 40 to 97% by mass, and more preferably 50 to95% by mass relative to the total mass of the thickened composition(final product). If the amount used is as described above, it ispossible to more sufficiently thicken the liquid component.

Although any known mixing means may be used as long as a homogeneousmixture is obtained, the mixing can be performed with, for example, apaddle mixer, an agi homo mixer, a disper mixer, and the like.

Regarding the mixing, the mixing may be performed under heating asnecessary. In the case of using the thickener in the molten state, themixing temperature is, for example, 5 to 120° C., preferably 50 to 100°C., and more preferably 55 to 90° C. In the case of using the thickenerin the powder form, the mixing temperature is, for example, 5 to 40° C.,preferably 10 to 30° C., and more preferably 15 to 25° C. Note that inthe case of thickening a particularly heat sensitive liquid component(for example, flavor, dye, vitamin, and the like), the mixingtemperature is set to a temperature which does not cause decompositionor modification of the liquid component.

Although no particular limitation is imposed on the mixing time, thethickener and the liquid component may be mixed until a sufficientlyuniform mixture is formed, and the mixing time is, for example, 5 to 60minutes, preferably 10 to 50 minutes, and more preferably 20 to 40minutes.

<Cooling Step>

There is a case where the mixture of the thickener and the liquidcomponent is subsequently subjected to the cooling step for thickening.In particular, if an oil and/or fat composition in the molten state(liquid form) is used as the thickener described above, the mixture isgenerally subjected to the cooling step for thickening because the stateof the mixture is the liquid form. Note that if an oil and/or fatcomposition in the solid state (powder form) is used as the thickenerdescribed above, the cooling step is an optional step performed asnecessary.

The cooling step refers to a step of cooling the mixture of thethickener and the liquid component to a predetermined final temperature.For example, if the liquid component contains a hydrophilic substance,the cooling step is performed on the oil and/or fat composition in themolten state at a temperature which is lower than the melting point ofthe β-type oil and/or fat of the oil and/or fat component contained inthe oil and/or fat composition and at a temperature which is equal to orhigher than the cooling temperature obtained from the following formula:cooling temperature(° C.)=number of carbon atoms x×6.6−68.Cooling in such a temperature range makes it possible to efficientlyproduce the β-type oil and/or fat, followed by formation of finecrystal. Thus, it is possible to easily obtain a thickened composition.

In addition, consider the case where the liquid component contains ahydrophilic substance. If x is 10 to 12, for example, the cooling of themixture is performed such that the final temperature reaches atemperature of preferably −2 to 46° C., more preferably 12 to 44° C.,and further preferably 14 to 42° C. For example, the final temperaturein the cooling is preferably 24 to 56° C., more preferably 32 to 54° C.,and further preferably 40 to 52° C. if x is 13 or 14, preferably 36 to66° C., more preferably 44 to 64° C., and further preferably 52 to 62°C. if x is 15 or 16, preferably 50 to 72° C., more preferably 54 to 70°C., and further preferably 58 to 68° C. if x is 17 or 18, preferably 62to 80° C., more preferably 66 to 78° C., and further preferably 70 to77° C. if x is 19 or 20, and preferably 66 to 84° C., more preferably 70to 82° C., and further preferably 74 to 80° C. if x is 21 or 22. It isappropriate to allow the mixture to stand at the final temperaturedescribed above for preferably 2 hours or more, more preferably 4 hoursor more, and further preferably 6 hours or more, and preferably 2 daysor less, more preferably 24 hours or less, and further preferably 12hours or less, for example.

On the other hand, in the case where the liquid component contains ahydrophobic substance, the optimum final temperature tends to becomelower as the content of the liquid component increases because thickenerdissolves into the liquid component, followed by homogenization.

Consider the case where the liquid component contains a hydrophobicsubstance. If the content of the liquid component is 30 to 50% by massand if x (the number of carbon atoms of the fatty acid residue X) is 10to 12, for example, the cooling of the mixture is performed such thatthe final temperature reaches a temperature of preferably −32 to 29° C.,more preferably −22 to 27° C., and further preferably −20 to 25° C. Forexample, the final temperature in the cooling is preferably −6 to 39°C., more preferably 2 to 37° C., and further preferably 10 to 35° C. ifx is 13 or 14, preferably 6 to 49° C., more preferably 14 to 47° C., andfurther preferably 22 to 45° C., if x is 15 or 16, preferably 20 to 55°C., more preferably 24 to 53° C., and further preferably 28 to 51° C. ifx is 17 or 18, preferably 32 to 63° C., more preferably 36 to 61° C.,and further preferably 40 to 60° C. if x is 19 or 20, and preferably 36to 67° C., more preferably 40 to 65° C., and further preferably 44 to63° C. if x is 21 or 22. Note that if the content of the liquidcomponent is 50% by mass to 75% by mass, the optimum final temperatureis a temperature further lower by 5° C. than the temperatures describedabove, and if the content of the liquid component is 75% by mass to 9%by mass, the optimum final temperature is a temperature further lower by10° C. than the temperatures described above.

It is appropriate to allow the mixture to stand at the temperaturedescribed above for preferably 1 hours or more, more preferably 2 hoursor more, and further preferably 4 hours or more, and preferably 2 daysor less, more preferably 24 hours or less, and further preferably 12hours or less, for example.

<Step of Promoting Thickening (Seeding Process, Tempering Process,and/or Pre-Cooling Process>

The seeding process, the tempering process, and/or pre-cooling processmay be performed as an optional step for promoting thickening betweenthe mixing step and the cooling step. Here, “between the mixing step andthe cooling step” has a meaning which includes within the mixing stepand after the mixing step, and before the cooling step and within thecooling step.

As the seeding process, it is possible to use the seeding process (c1)described above in relation to the production of the powder oil and/orfat composition constituting the thickener.

As the tempering process, it is possible to use the tempering process(c2) described above in relation to the production of the powder oiland/or fat composition constituting the thickener.

As the pre-cooling process, it is possible to use the pre-coolingprocess (c3) described above in relation to the production of the powderoil and/or fat composition constituting the thickener.

Although the present invention does not intend to be bound by aparticular theory, use of the thickener of the present invention makesit possible to easily thicken the liquid component presumably because ofthe characteristics of the oil and/or fat composition contained in thethickener. To be more specific, we consider as follows. When adjusted toappropriate temperature conditions, the XXX-type triglyceridecrystallizes in a very hollowly state (state where the volume hasincreased and voids have been formed). Here, the liquid component istaken in the voids to become a solid. Thus, thickening is achieved. Itis considered that the liquid component is also taken in the voids byadding the thickener in the powder form to the liquid component.

<Characteristics of Thickened Composition>

The thickened composition, which is obtained by applying the thickenerof the present invention to the liquid component, indicates all thathave an increased viscosity larger than the liquid component beforethickening. The thickened composition mentioned in the present inventionalso includes one having fluidity (for example, pasty one) or one havingplasticity. Note that the thickened composition of the present inventionis not a composition in the powder form.

The thickened composition of the present invention has a viscositylarger than one times the viscosity of the liquid component, forexample, a viscosity 1.5 to 100 times, preferably a viscosity 2 to 75times, and further preferably 5 to 50 times that. The viscosity of thethickened composition (room temperature 20° C.) can be measured using amodel B viscometer.

The viscosity of the thickened composition itself of the presentinvention is not particularly limited because it depends on theviscosity of the liquid component being the starting point. Inconsideration of the handling convenience, however, the fluid state ispreferable. For example, the viscosity is 1 to 30000 mPa·S(mPa·s=millipascal×second, model B viscometer, 20° C., 6 to 60 rpm, No.1 to 4), preferably 2 to 25000 mPa·s, more preferably 5 to 15000 mPa·s,and especially preferably 7 to 1000 mPa·s.

<Use of Thickened Composition>

The thickened composition obtained by applying the thickener of thepresent invention to the liquid component can be used in variousproducts without particular limitation depending on the functionsprovided by the functional materials contained in the thickened liquidcomponent.

Specific examples of the products include, for example, foods and/orbeverages, cosmetics, quasi drug, pharmaceutical drugs, household goods,feeds, general goods, agricultural chemicals, industrial chemicalproducts, and the like.

In addition, the thickened composition itself may be used as a product(for example, gel-form food) and may be used as a raw material or anintermediate of the above-described product.

<Foods and/or Beverages>

The present invention also relates to foods and/or beveragesparticularly containing the thickened composition described above. Thefoods and/or beverages include, for example, luxury foods withoutparticular limitation.

Note that the foods and/or beverages of the present invention may be thethickened compositions themselves or ones made by blending the thickenedcomposition in other foods and/or beverages.

Regarding the luxury foods, it is possible to use ones which can beblended with the thickened composition of the present invention withoutparticular limitation. Examples include cooking materials, processedfoods, cooked foods, and the like. Specific examples include oils and/orfats or processed oils and/or fats (for example, deep frying oil forbusiness use or household use, stir frying oil, spray oil, baking trayoil, margarine, fat spread, shortening, flour paste, creams, powder oilsand/or fats, emulsified oils and/or fats, and the like), instant foods(for example, instant noodles, cup noodles, instant soups and stews, andthe like), retort foods and canned foods (for example, curry, soup,stews, pasta sauce, prepared Chinese foods, prepared donburi, and thelike), functional foods (for example, high-calorie beverages, fluiddiets, balanced nutrition foods, dietary supplements, food for specifiedhealth uses, and the like), wheat flour or starch foods (for example,bread, pastas such as macaroni and spaghetti, pizza pies, noodles, cakemixes, processed cooked rice, serials, and the like), confectionery anddesserts (for example, caramel, candies, chewing gum, chocolate, cookiesand biscuits, cakes, pies, snacks, crackers, wagashi, beika, mamegashi,jellies, pudding, and the like), basic seasonings (for example, soysauce, miso, sauces, and the like), flavor enhancers (curry or roux forstew, tare sauces, dressings, mayonnaise-like seasoning, noodle soupbase, soup base for nabemono, chili oil, mustard, karashi, wasabi,grated ginger, grated onion, prepared kimchi, demi-glace, white sauce,tomato sauce, and the like), dairy products (for example, milk,processed milk, yogurts, lactic acid bacteria beverages, cheeses, icecreams, powdered infant formula, creams, and the like), processed marineproducts (for example, canned marine products, fish ham or sausage,pastes of marine product, canned oil immersed fish, and the like),processed agricultural products (for example, peanut butter, jam,marmalade, chocolate cream, processed menma products, processed zha caiproducts, nerigoma, sesame paste, and the like), processed livestockproducts (for example, animal meat ham or sausage, canned animal meat,pastes, hamburg steak, meatballs, flavored canned animal meat, and thelike), and cooked or half cooked foods (for example, frozen foods,refrigerated foods, packed side dishes, side dishes for storefront sale,and the like). In addition, the foods and/or beverages containing thethickened composition of the present invention may be foods and/orbeverages used for non-humans, for example pet foods for pets and feedsfor livestock.

Next, the effects of the present invention are described in detail usingExamples, but the present invention is not limited to Examples.

EXAMPLES

Preparation of Thickener

The thickeners A and A′ described below were prepared.

Thickener

Extremely hardened rapeseed oil commercially available (manufactured byYokozeki Oil & Fat Industries Co., Ltd.) was used as the oil and/or fatcomposition.

When the total triglyceride content (content of the oil and/or fatcomponent) was set to 100% by mass, the oil and/or fat composition was

an oil and/or fat composition containing 79.1% by mass of the XXX-typetriglyceride having fatty acid residues X, each with x (x=18) carbonatoms, at positions 1 to 3.

In addition, this oil and/or fat composition had a melting point ofabout 67° C. and was in the solid state at room temperature. This oiland/or fat composition is transformed into the liquid state when heatedand melted.

This oil and/or fat composition was used as the thickener A describedlater.

Moreover, 25 g of this oil and/or fat composition was kept at 80° C. for0.5 hours for complete melting, followed by cooling in a 55°C.-thermostatic chamber for 12 hours to form a solid having voids withan increased volume. After the crystallization was completed, coolingwas performed to the room temperature (25° C.) state. The obtained solidwas loosened to obtain a crystalline composition in the solid state(powder form) (loose bulk density: 0.2 g/cm³, aspect ratio 1.6 (plateshape), average particle diameter 54 μm, X-ray diffraction measurementdiffraction peak: 4.6 Å (peak characteristic of the β-type oil and/orfat), and peak intensity ratio: 0.89).

This oil and/or fat composition was used as the thickener A′ describedlater.

Loose Bulk Density

The loose bulk density was calculated by using a bulk specific gravitymeasurement apparatus of Kuramochi Kagakukikai Seisakusho and using abulk specific gravity measured based on JIS K-6720 (or ISO 1060-1 and-2). To be more specific, 120 mL of sample was allowed to fall onto areceiver (100 mL cylindrical container having an inner diameter of 40mm×height 85 mm) from a position higher by 38 mm than the upper open endof the receiver. Subsequently, a portion of the sample sticking out ofthe receiver was removed, and the mass (A g) of the sample correspondingto the internal volume of the receiver (100 mL) was weighed. The loosebulk density was obtained by the following formula.loose bulk density(g/mL)=A(g)/100 (mL)

The measurement was performed three times and the average value thereofwas set to the measurement value.

Average Particle Diameter

The average particle diameter was measured with Microtrac MT 3300 ExIImanufactured by Nikkiso Co., Ltd. based on the laser diffractionscattering method (ISO 133201 and ISO 9276-1).

In each of the examples, the viscosity of the liquid component and theviscosity of the thickened composition were measured using a model Bviscometer (manufactured by Tokyo Keiki Inc., 20° C., 6 to 60 rpm, rotorNo. 1 to 4).

Examples 1 to 6 employed canola oil (viscosity: 71.2 mPa·s) as theliquid component.

It can be said that the canola oil (manufactured by The Nisshin OilliOGroup, Ltd.) used in Examples 1 to 6 contains a lipid (particularly atriglyceride) as the hydrophobic substance and is the melted hydrophobicsubstance itself (a melt).

Example 1

Into Maruemu Screw Tube No. 8 (manufactured by Maruemu Corporation),40.0 g of the thickener A′ and 40.0 g of canola oil were placed andmixed at 20° C. Thus, a thickened composition was obtained. Here, theamount of the liquid component used was 50% by mass relative to thetotal mass of the thickened composition (thickener A′+liquid component).

The obtained thickened composition was in a fluid state (pasty state)(FIG. 2) but could not be measured under the measurement conditionsdescribed above. Its viscosity was estimated to be 100000 mPa·s or more.

Example 2

Into Maruemu Screw Tube No. 8 (manufactured by Maruemu Corporation),20.0 g of the thickener A′ and 60.0 g of canola oil were placed andmixed at 20° C. Thus, a thickened composition was obtained. Here, theamount of the liquid component used was 75% by mass relative to thetotal mass of the thickened composition (thickener A′+liquid component).

The viscosity of the obtained thickened composition was 560.0 mPa·s (20°C., 6 rpm, No. 1).

Example 3

Into Maruemu Screw Tube No. 8 (manufactured by Maruemu Corporation), 8.0g of the thickener A′ and 72.0 g of canola oil were placed and mixed at20° C. Thus, a thickened composition was obtained. Here, the amount ofthe liquid component used was 90% by mass relative to the total mass ofthe thickened composition (thickener A′+liquid component).

The viscosity of the obtained thickened composition was 110.4 mPa·s (20°C., 30 rpm, No. 1).

Example 4

Into Maruemu Screw Tube No. 8 (manufactured by Maruemu Corporation), 4.0g of the thickener A′ and 76.0 g of canola oil were placed and mixed at20° C. Thus, a thickened composition was obtained. Here, the amount ofthe liquid component used was 95% by mass relative to the total mass ofthe thickened composition (thickener A′+liquid component).

The viscosity of the obtained thickened composition was 85.5 mPa·s (20°C., 60 rpm, No. 1).

Example 5

Into Maruemu Screw Tube No. 8 (manufactured by Maruemu Corporation), 8.0g of the thickener A and 72.0 g of canola oil were placed, and weremixed and kept at 80° C. for 0.5 hours for complete melting, followed bymixing. Next, the mixture was cooled in a 30° C.-thermostatic chamberfor 12 hours to obtain a thickened composition. Here, the amount of theliquid component used was 90% by mass relative to the total mass of thethickened composition (thickener A+liquid component).

The viscosity of the obtained thickened composition was 128.3 mPa·s (20°C., 60 rpm, No. 2).

Example 6

Into Maruemu Screw Tube No. 8 (manufactured by Maruemu Corporation), 4.0g of the thickener A and 76.0 g of canola oil were placed, and weremixed and kept at 80° C. for 0.5 hours for complete melting, followed bymixing. Next, the mixture was cooled in a 30° C.-thermostatic chamberfor 12 hours to obtain a thickened composition. Here, the amount of theliquid component used was 95% by mass relative to the total mass of thethickened composition (thickener A+liquid component).

The viscosity of the obtained thickened composition was 92.3 mPa·s (20°C., 60 rpm, No. 1).

Table 2 below shows the viscosity of the canola oil before thickeningand the viscosity of the thickened composition obtained by using thethickener A or A′.

TABLE 2 Amount of Liquid Composition Used Relative to Total Mass ofThickened Composition (% by Mass) Viscosity (mPa · s) Control — 71.2Example 1 50 100000 or more Example 2 75 560.0 Example 3 90 110.4Example 4 95 85.5 Example 5 90 128.3 Example 6 95 92.3

Table 2 shows that it was possible to thicken the canola oil by usingthe thickener of the present invention and in addition that thepreferably applicable thickener is not only one in the liquid state butalso one in the solid state (powder form). Note that in the case ofusing one in the solid state, the cooling step was unnecessary.

Next, Examples 7 to 10 employed triethylhexanoin (viscosity: 39.5 mPa·s)as the liquid component.

It can be said that the triethylhexanoin (manufactured by The NisshinOilliO Group, Ltd., trade name: T.I.O) used in Examples 6 to 8 containstriethylhexanoin as the hydrophobic substance and is the meltedhydrophobic substance itself (a melt).

Example 7

Into Maruemu Screw Tube No. 8 (manufactured by Maruemu Corporation),40.0 g of the thickener A′ and 40.0 g of triethylhexanoin were placedand mixed at 20° C. Thus, a thickened composition was obtained. Here,the amount of the liquid component used was 50% by mass relative to thetotal mass of the powder composition (thickener A′+liquid component).

The obtained thickened composition was in a fluid state (pasty state)(FIG. 4) but could not be measured under the measurement conditionsdescribed above. Its viscosity was estimated to be 100000 mPa·s or more.

Example 8

Into Maruemu Screw Tube No. 8 (manufactured by Maruemu Corporation),20.0 g of the thickener A′ and 60.0 g of triethylhexanoin were placedand mixed at 20° C. Thus, a thickened composition was obtained. Here,the amount of the liquid component used was 75% by mass relative to thetotal mass of the powder composition (thickener A′+liquid component).

The viscosity of the obtained thickened composition was 384.5 mPa·s (20°C., 12 rpm, No. 1).

Example 9

Into Maruemu Screw Tube No. 8 (manufactured by Maruemu Corporation), 8.0g of the thickener A′ and 72.0 g of triethylhexanoin were placed andmixed at 20° C. Thus, a thickened composition was obtained. Here, theamount of the liquid component used was 90% by mass relative to thetotal mass of the powder composition (thickener A′+liquid component).

The viscosity of the obtained thickened composition was 62.4 mPa·s (20°C., 60 rpm, No. 1).

Example 10

Into Maruemu Screw Tube No. 8 (manufactured by Maruemu Corporation), 4.0g of the thickener A′ and 76.0 g of triethylhexanoin were placed andmixed at 20° C. Thus, a thickened composition was obtained. Here, theamount of the liquid component used was 95% by mass relative to thetotal mass of the powder composition (thickener A′+liquid component).

The viscosity of the obtained thickened composition was 48.8 mPa·s (20°C., 60 rpm, No. 1).

Table 3 below shows the viscosity of the triethylhexanoin beforethickening and the viscosities of the thickened compositions obtained byusing the thickener A or A′.

TABLE 3 Amount of Liquid Composition Used Relative to Total Mass ofThickener (% by Mass) Viscosity (mPa · s) Control — 39.5 Example 7 50100000 or more Example 8 75 384.5  Example 9 90 62.4 Example 10 95 48.8

Table 3 shows that it was possible to thicken the triethylhexanoin byusing the thickener of the present invention. Note that in the case ofusing one in the powder form, the cooling step was unnecessary.

Table 4 summarizes the results of Examples described above.

TABLE 4 Amount of Liquid Name Property Number Component XXX-Type Finalof of of Used triglyceride Cooling Functional Liquid Carbon (% by (% byViscosity Temperature/ Material Component Thickener Atoms x Mass) Mass)(mPa · s) Hour Example 1 Canola Hydrophobic A′ 18 50.0 79.1 1000 00 Oilor more Example 2 Canola Hydrophobic A′ 18 75.0 79.1 560.0 Oil Example 3Canola Hydrophobic A′ 18 90.0 79.1 110.4 Oil Example 4 CanolaHydrophobic A′ 18 95.0 79.1 85.5 Oil Example 5 Canola Hydrophobic A 1890.0 79.1 128.3 30° C./1 Oil Hour Example 6 Canola Hydrophobic A 18 95.079.1 92.3 30° C./1 Oil Hour Example 7 T.I.O Hydrophobic A′ 18 50.0 79.11000 00 or more Example 8 T.I.O Hydrophobic A′ 18 75.0 79.1 384.5Example 9 T.I.O Hydrophobic A′ 18 90.0 79.1 62.4 Example 10 T.I.OHydrophobic A′ 18 95.0 79.1 48.8

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention is applicable to various fields of, for example,foods, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and industry.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A thickener for a liquid component, whereinthe thickener contains an oil and/or fat composition, the oil and/or fatcomposition contains an oil and/or fat component containing one or moretypes of XXX-type triglycerides having fatty acid residues X, each withx carbon atoms, at positions 1 to 3 of glycerin, x, the number of carbonatoms, is an integer selected from 10 to 22, and the XXX-typetriglyceride is contained at 50% by mass or more relative to a contentof the oil and/or fat component being 100% by mass, and wherein thethickener is a powder oil and/or fat composition, the oil and/or fatcomponent contains a β-type oil and/or fat, a particle of the powder oiland/or fat composition has a plate shape, a loose bulk density of thepowder oil and/or fat composition is 0.05 to 0.6 g/cm³, and the liquidcomponent is a liquid at 20° C.
 2. The thickener according to claim 1,wherein the liquid component has a viscosity of 1 to 300 mPas.
 3. Thethickener according to claim 1, wherein the liquid component contains ahydrophobic substance.
 4. The thickener according to claim 1, whereinthe liquid component is a solution of a hydrophobic substance.
 5. Thethickener according to claim 1, wherein the liquid component is anemulsion of a hydrophobic substance.
 6. The thickener according to claim3, wherein the hydrophobic substance is selected from the groupconsisting of flavors, dyes, vitamins, lipids, and mixtures thereof. 7.The thickener according to claim 1, wherein the liquid componentcontains a hydrophilic substance.
 8. The thickener according to claim 1,wherein the liquid component is a solution of a hydrophilic substance.9. The thickener according to claim 1, wherein the liquid component isan emulsion of a hydrophilic substance.
 10. The thickener according toclaim 7, wherein the hydrophilic substance is selected from the groupconsisting of flavors, dyes, vitamins, and mixtures thereof.
 11. Thethickener according to claim 1, wherein the liquid component is a liquidform food.
 12. The thickener according to claim 11, wherein the liquidform food is selected from the group consisting of cow's milk, wines,fruit juices, stock, and yogurts.
 13. A method of producing a thickenedcomposition, comprising: a mixing step of mixing a thickener accordingto claim 1 and a liquid component, wherein the thickener contains an oiland/or fat composition, the oil and/or fat composition contains an oiland/or fat component containing one or more types of XXX-typetriglycerides having fatty acid residues X, each with x carbon atoms, atpositions 1 to 3 of glycerin, x, the number of carbon atoms, is aninteger selected from 10 to 22, and the XXX-type triglyceride iscontained at 50% by mass or more relative to a content of the oil and/orfat component being 100% by mass, and wherein the thickener is a powderoil and/or fat composition, the oil and/or fat component contains aβ-type oil and/or fat, a particle of the powder oil and/or fatcomposition has a plate shape, a loose bulk density of the powder oiland/or fat composition is 0.05 to 0.6 g/cm³, and wherein the liquidcomponent is a liquid at 20° C.
 14. The production method according toclaim 13, further comprising: a cooling step of cooling a mixture of thethickener and the liquid component.
 15. The production method accordingto claim 14, a seeding process, a tempering process, and/or apre-cooling process are further performed between the mixing step andthe cooling step.
 16. The production method according to claim 13,wherein an amount of the liquid component used is more than 30% by massto 99% by mass relative to a total mass of the thickened composition.17. A thickened composition comprising the thickener according to claim1 and a liquid component, wherein the liquid component is a liquid at20° C.
 18. The thickened composition according to claim 17, wherein aviscosity of the thickened composition is 1 to 30000 mPaS.
 19. A foodand/or beverage comprising the thickened composition according to claim17.
 20. The production method according to claim 13, wherein the liquidcomponent has a viscosity of 1 to 300 mPa·s.
 21. The production methodaccording to claim 13, wherein the liquid component contains ahydrophobic substance.
 22. The production method according to claim 13,wherein the liquid component is a solution of a hydrophobic substance.23. The production method according to claim 13, wherein the liquidcomponent is an emulsion of a hydrophobic substance.
 24. The productionmethod according to claim 21, wherein the hydrophobic substance isselected from the group consisting of flavors, dyes, vitamins, lipids,and mixtures thereof.
 25. The production method according to claim 13,wherein the liquid component contains a hydrophilic substance.
 26. Theproduction method according to claim 13, wherein the liquid component isa solution of a hydrophilic substance.
 27. The production methodaccording to claim 13, wherein the liquid component is an emulsion of ahydrophilic substance.
 28. The production method according to claim 25,wherein the hydrophilic substance is selected from the group consistingof flavors, dyes, vitamins, and mixtures thereof.
 29. The productionmethod according to claim 13, wherein the liquid component is a liquidform food.
 30. The production method according to claim 29, wherein theliquid form food is selected from the group consisting of cow's milk,wines, fruit juices, stock, and yogurts.